Chemistry of Carbon Dioxide Removal
About this ebook
Despite the forward-thinking nature of CDR technologies, understanding the fundamentals of CDR requires a perspective from hundreds of thousands of years ago until present as outlined at the start of this digital primer. The reader is introduced to the underlying physics of Earth’s energy systems, an outline of the global carbon cycle and its effects on climate over various timescales, and the theory of CDR. Understanding the natural relationship between carbon cycles and global climate is essential to CDR, as most technologies strive to accelerate the long-term carbon storage mechanisms provided in nature. To that end, a bottom-up understanding of atmospheric energy budgets from greenhouse gases to millennial-scale carbon cycling is provided (Chapter 2).
The authors divide the discussion of CDR processes into two broad categories: those that enhance existing carbon sinks (Chapter 3) and those that develop new carbon sinks (Chapter 4). Within each category, multiple CDR methodologies are discussed, focusing on modern and historical analogues, recent field and modeling study results, and collective impacts, including benefits and considerations, for implementation. The last chapter (Chapter 5) includes a section dedicated to the most novel and emerging CDR approaches currently in the field and summarizes the multiple CDR strategies, their cost, the storage timetable, and the trade-offs. The primer concludes by presenting the relevant social, legal, and ethical challenges of CDR implementation in the world of environmental justice today.
About the author
Lauren is an environmental and marine chemistry specialist. She is an oceanography Ph.D. candidate at the University of Connecticut. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and environmental science from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and her master’s in oceanography from the University of Connecticut. As a recipient of the 2024 NOAA Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, she is a Fellow with the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Samantha is an environmental and carbonate chemistry specialist. She received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry with an American Chemical Society Certification from the University of South Carolina. She is a Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut, where her work focuses on the inorganic carbon cycle in the Arctic. She is a NOAA Hollings Scholar and a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP).
Dr. Vlahos is a Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She received her training in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada, followed by doctoral research at the University of Massachusetts in Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Systems. Her research focuses on environmental thermodynamics and the transport of molecules across global interfaces. Dr. Vlahos is a Fellow of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and has been a Fulbright Specialist in Switzerland, Columbia, and Sri Lanka.
